What's happening in NYC this week for kids? There's new playground in Brooklyn, a new IMAX space show at the Liberty Science Center, a viking ship has docked in Times Square, and for parents, a revealing new TV series about the food our kids are eating. Plus it's free cone day at Ben and Jerry's and free pastries at Starbucks today only. Get the scoop!

Opening this week:

A new public library branch opened in Battery Park City this week and is holding opening celebrations today. March 18, 2010. Besides being a beautiful, light and spacious facility, the new Battery Park City NYPL branch was constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability and will be the first GREEN Library in Manhattan.

A few people have asked me to write about the Bake-In Rally that parents are organizing at City Hall on Thursday, March 18th. While I like taking a good jab at the NYC DOE as much as the next guy, I'm pointing my elbows at a slightly different target this time.

Recently, there have been several cases of parents getting up in arms over issues spawned by headlines that seem to be written for the sole purpose of provoking us...and us falling for it. And, thanks to yet another misleading NY Times headline, many parents have been riled up again, in this case, to believe that not only are they not allowed to sell home baked goods at school bake sales, but that they are required to sell packaged goods like Frito Lay products and Pop Tarts. This is just not the case.

I've been posting a little bit lightly this week because I was under the weather. My family is a mess, actually. This week has been full of lice and vomit and in the middle of it all my daughter has been taking all her middle school entrance exams, but that's another story. Anyway, I have some fun deals, discounts and promotions to share, but I know some people that get this in their email tomorrow are going to miss the Pinkberry promotion and be annoyed that I didn't post it yesterday, so I just wanted to explain why.

Update: There is no elephant parade in 2014 due to the circus playing in Brooklyn..

Once again the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus is heading into town and since the circus elephants can’t go up the Penn Station escalators, they need to get off the circus train a stop early in Queens and walk through the Mid-Town Tunnel, and straight across Manhattan to Madison Square Garden.

Posting this event is always controversial because some people feel that watching the circus elephants march across Manhattan is supporting their mistreatment in the circus. On the other hand, I get lots of emails every year asking me when it 's happening. My position is that this is a pretty crazy thing that happens in NYC and I'm letting people know. Do what you like with the information.

One of the really great things about New York CIty is having all these cultures living here together. And by far the most fun way to experience them is through food. From food carts to family friendly restaurants, dining out on ethnic foods is delicious, fun and educational.  

One of my favorite ethnic food experiences, and probably one of the most interesting restaurant experiences for kids is Korean barbecue. Korean barbecue has a couple of things going for it that make it a favorite for both me and kids:

When I was a little kid we lived near what we called Abingdon Square Park and is now called Bleeker Park, the playground on 7th Avenue in the West Village. It was a great park and the main feature was a giant concrete boat that we would climb on, tunnel under, jump over and in general inspired many imaginative games. The concrete boat is long gone now and I can only imagine that some kid smashing their face into it one too many times hastened its end.

Now most NYC playgrounds look pretty much the same: generic climbing equipment, slides, sometimes swings or a water feature, but a new playground in Union Square definitely breaks the mold for NYC playgrounds.

When we were researching our recent post on coats and outerwear to use while babywearing, I stumbled upon this video. We already know baby's love Beyonce's All the Single Ladies, but apparently sling-totin' baby mamas do too. Every time I watch this it makes me smile. I hope you like it too.